Once the steaming medicinal liquid had cooled a little, she used it to rinse the pale wound. Before long, Tesolys felt the numbness in his forehead ease. Much of the cold that had coiled across his face like a snake also receded.
As steaming water kept flowing down his face and dripping from his chin into the basin, the flesh of the wound, which had already turned white, actually began to regain its red color. A little blood even seeped out, just as it had when he first received the cut.
Tesolys bent low to help Talina treat him. This young woman, who had been so frightened only moments before, seemed to become someone else entirely once she actually began her work.
Her expression was earnest and meticulous. Her long, slender fingers deftly cleaned the wound on his head with clean white linen, while her emerald-green eyes remained fixed on his forehead without blinking. When she had finished washing it, she even used both hands to lift his head slowly. At this moment, her boldness was astonishing.
As she lowered her head to wash the linen in the basin, Tesolys suddenly noticed how adorable her profile was. It had just the right amount of plumpness without making her cheeks look puffy in the least. Like a well-made steamed bun of risen dough...
The comparison might not have been entirely appropriate, but that really was what came to mind.
Unlike the generally slender Hols, this young woman was very well developed. Her figure was full without any excess fat. Everything about her was proportioned just right, and she was tall and gracefully poised besides...
All he could say was that she did not look as though she had lacked nourishment while growing up. For a moment, Tesolys found himself staring in a daze.
Only when she brought out her little pouch and took a suturing needle from it did he return to his senses.
"What sort of thread do you use to stitch wounds? Hemp or cotton?"
Talina realized that he was speaking to her. She went on to take a bundle of white thread from the pouch.
"Neither. Wounds have to be stitched with fine thread stripped from sheep intestines, and it has to be scalded in boiling water before it can be used. During that process, you have to protect the thread with Flod's Basic Protection, so it doesn't get completely ruined by the heat. After that, it has to stay sealed away by magic, and you can only open it when you're ready to use it."
Clean, pale fingers deftly passed the translucent white thread through the eye of the silver-colored needle. The young woman murmured an incantation over the needle for a while. Only when a speck of blue-green light appeared at its tip did she stop, satisfied.
When she turned back, she found Tesolys staring fixedly at her fingers. His expression was stiff with astonishment, as though he were utterly shocked by the magic she had used.
Tesolys really was very shocked. This was the first time he had learned that magic even existed in this world. Even after fighting his way out of the meat grinder of a battlefield involving tens of thousands of people, he had seen no trace of anything related to magic throughout the ordeal.
Surely, if such a powerful force existed, why would it not be used in warfare?
After turning it over in his mind, he could think of only two possibilities. Either this power was not yet sufficiently developed, perhaps even too weak, or this kind of magic only worked within an extremely narrow field, such as medicine, and was useless in other areas.
Otherwise, there was no explaining its absence from war.
Only when warm fingers pressed against his temple did he realize that she was about to start stitching him up... He raised his head and even leaned slightly back against the wall, letting those slender fingers press repeatedly against his forehead.
As the sharp needle pierced his skin, the shocking wound on his forehead was sewn closed little by little, until it no longer looked quite so horrifying. The young woman concentrated wholly on stitching the wound, leaning very close to him as she worked.
The distinctive fresh scent of medicinal herbs reached his nose. His keen ears could even hear her faint breathing. Wisps of warm breath brushed the skin of his forehead, making the back of his neck suddenly itch a little and leaving him uncomfortable all over.
He did nothing more than frown slightly. But that frown made Talina's fingers tremble. She thought she had pushed the needle too deep and hurt the man before her, so she could only take even greater care. Her stitching slowed considerably.
Slow as she was, however, the wound had to be finished eventually. After making a neat finish, she cut the thread and looked with satisfaction at the wound on his forehead.
Tesolys reached up to touch it, but the young woman slapped his hand away with a smack.
"Don't touch it. You'll make the wound flare up..."
Before she had even finished speaking, both of them froze. She stared at her own hand in astonishment. Her face gradually took on an ashen hue, and even her legs would no longer hold her steady. She looked as though she might collapse to the floor at any moment.
In that instant, she had already imagined her fate... Those terrifying cavalrymen would hack her to pieces in the blink of an eye and dump her body in the wilderness. Then the beasts of the forest would gnaw her down to the bones...
Why had she suddenly become so bold? She had actually dared to strike his hand. It was as though something had gone wrong in her head...
Just as she was trembling so hard that she was about to frighten herself into tears, the corners of Tesolys's mouth turned upward, and he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Heh!!... Physician, you really are an amusing woman. You did very well. I ought to reward you properly..."
Just as the atmosphere was easing, Tesolys, still laughing so hard he could barely breathe, suddenly reached behind his waist and drew a short blade.
The young woman was so thoroughly frightened that she fell to the floor and scrambled backward on her hands and feet. The keen edge, polished brilliantly bright, flashed with a dazzling cold light beneath the moon, freezing her heart solid.
Just as Talina thought she was about to be brutally killed, Tesolys looked at her helplessly.
"What are you imagining, girl? This blade's hilt is inlaid with gold. It's worth a fair bit. I don't have any other valuables on me, so you can have this... You can sell it for some money, or keep it to defend yourself. Either is fine."
As he spoke, he stood up. Then he pinched the blade between his fingers and offered her the hilt.
"Take it. If you won't accept this, I'll have to leave you unpaid... After all, apart from our armor and weapons, we have nothing else worth any money. We need to keep those to stay alive, so I can't give them to you."
Seeing that she was still too frightened to accept it, he impatiently thrust the hilt into her hand. Then he closed his own hand around hers and used the movement to pull her up from the floor.
Her legs already weak with fear, Talina had no strength at all to resist. His terrifying strength hauled her straight up, and she crashed unhindered into his chest, colliding squarely with the hard armor plates. They even pressed several red marks into her fair, tender cheek.
The young woman quickly shrank away as though she had been shocked by electricity. At the same time, she clutched the short blade tightly to her chest, perhaps to give herself some sense of safety.
"Take the sheath too. Aren't you afraid of cutting yourself?"
Tesolys handed her an exquisite sheath inlaid with gold and silver wire. Even without the precious metals, its fine workmanship alone would have made it worth a considerable amount.
Yet Talina could not shake the feeling that he had frightened her on purpose just now. Otherwise, why had he not taken it out with the sheath?... She could not help puffing out her cheeks slightly and sneaking a cautious glare at Tesolys.
But she dared not look for long. Like a timid little squirrel, she quickly lowered her head again.
What a strange man...
She could only grumble silently to herself.
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